Big Careers, Small Children

Verena Hefti, CEO and Founder of Leaders Plus, gives a preview for the new series of the award-winning Leaders With Babies Podcast. Our next podcast is an interview with Reverend Carla Maurer, Minister of The Swiss Church in London, in which we talk about purpose and setting boundaries.  Coming up later this season we speak to an Executive Director in the largest education charity in the UK about...

Welcome back to Series 5 of the Leaders With Babies Podcast. In this episode Verena Hefti, Founder and CEO of Leaders Plus, discusses her experience of being on maternity leave with her third child, whilst running a social enterprise. Verena is interviewed by Kirstie Brewer , a journalist at the BBC and a Leaders Plus Fellow. Kirstie asks some interesting questions about maternity leave and how yo...

Are you interested in becoming a Non-Executive Director (NED)? Do you know what the role involves and where to find the best opportunities?  On this week’s Leaders With Babies podcast Verena chats to Non-Executive Director and Leaders Plus Fellow Lucy Walker about why you should consider becoming an NED, diversity on boards, plus Lucy's journey combining two young kids with a board career. Lu...

To celebrate International Women's Day #IWD2021 we have a special podcast takeover episode from our inspirational Leaders Plus Fellows. BBC journalist and Leaders Plus Fellow Kirstie Brewer interviews BBC Three and BBC News Assistant Editor Kim Rowell about taking maternity leave, returning to work, and "things I'd tell my pregnant self". They discuss why kindness - or more imp...

What if people were truly at the center of organisations? How might a flexible working request work differently if processes didn't hold us back?  Our guest today is Michele Zanini, the co-author of the bestselling book Humanocracy, which sets out a passionate, data-driven argument for excising bureaucracy and replacing it with something better. Michele is passionate about building organisati...

We are so excited to share this episode of Leaders With Babies with you as our guest this week is the extremely inspiring Michelle Mitchell OBE. Michelle became Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK in 2018, the world’s leading charitable funder of  Cancer research. She's also a mum to two pre-teen children.   Michelle has been a real trail blazer for parents who are in high level senior lead...

Our guest today is the record breaking ultra runner, small animal vet, research scientist and mother of two Jasmin Paris.  Jasmin completely changed expectations of what is possible for new mums when she won the gruelling 268-mile Montane Spine race shortly after welcoming her first child. An incredible achievement, especially as she was stopping at the race break points to express milk for her yo...

Are you thinking about applying for a new senior leadership or director level role? Listen to this episode of Leaders With Babies first! Our guest today is Lee Higgins, who is part of the senior leadership team at the recruitment firm Falcon Brook Search and who has decades of experience working as a headhunter for senior leadership roles. Lee is particularly passionate about diversity and inclusi...

Exactly how do you progress your career whilst working in a part-time role?  What do the most successful working parents do to ensure they are strategic about their career progression? Leaders With Babies is back with series 4 and our guest this week is the author, psychologist, coach, and founder of Talent Keep Specialists , Jessica Chivers. Jessica is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to progr...

Something a little different for the final episode of Season 3 as the tables have turned and I have found myself answering the questions instead of asking them! Kirstie Brewer , a journalist at the BBC and a Leaders Plus Fellow, interviews me, Verena Hefti, the host of this podcast and the founder of Leaders Plus. I share my personal story of combining a senior leadership career with young childre...

This week on Leaders With Babies we welcome entrepreneur and inspirational speaker Lauren Currie OBE to the podcast. Lauren is the founder of both UPFRONT , a business committed to elevating and encouraging new voices on and off public stages and enhancing the visibility and confidence of women, and Stride , an app that is committed to democratising leadership development for the workforces of the...

Is your child about to start school? Are you nervous about how you'll manage this important transition, alongside juggling work? In this special episode of the Leaders With Babies podcast Verena speaks to three Leaders Plus Fellows for their advice on managing the transition to Primary School. Including how to effectively communicate with your employer and partner, as well as other practical...

Our guest this week is the inspirational Dr Funke Abimbola MBE , a multi-award winning lawyer, C-suite advisor, public speaker, TV contributor, diversity leader, as well as the Chief Executive Officer at the Austen Bronte Consultancy. Dr Abimbola was one of the initial speakers at the 2018 Leaders Plus House of Commons launch event, where she spoke in front of 40 babies and 60 leaders sharing her...

It is easy to imagine that post Covid-19 the flexible working argument is solved, however many line managers, senior leaders and employers still have deep-rooted fears around losing control or a perceived lack of performance. So how can we change their minds? What are the right arguments to help them to think differently? Our guest today is HR Director James Lloyd and he is incredibly honest (whic...

Sometimes you need more than a career mentor, you need a sponsor! In this episode of Leaders With Babies, we focus on finding a sponsor and why exactly they are so crucial for your career. So what is a sponsor? A sponsor is a senior leader who advocates for you, believes in you, and champions you at work and the evidence is very clear that having a sponsor makes a massive difference for the career...

This week we are delighted to welcome back HR Director and Leaders Plus Mentor Laura Harrison to the podcast. Laura, who previously featured on episode 13   (sharing with us her thoughts on flexible working and building relationships, do check it out if you haven't already), joins us again to look in detail at part time working for senior roles and offer practical advice for listeners keen to...

Our guest this week is Becky Maxwell, a part-time Emergency Medicine Consultant and Clinical Chair of the Division of Diagnostics and Therapies at the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust , as well as the Co-Chair of RCEMLearning (the Royal College of Emergency Medicine e-learning website). Becky shares really honestly the reality of juggling her portfolio career in emergen...

Our guest this week is Lori Mihalich-Levin, a US-based lawyer, author, and the founder of Mindful Return, which supports parents on their return to work after having children.  When Lori Mihalich-Levin returned to work as a lawyer after having her second child, the stresses of her job combined with the demands of taking care of a baby and a toddler initially proved overwhelming.  Determined to cha...

Our guest this week is the writer, tv presenter, and author of the new book “Solo: How to Work Alone and Not Lose Your Mind,’ Rebecca Seal. Rebecca chats with us about how to thrive when working from home, including how to set boundaries successfully and why working long hours actually damages your productivity. She shares the latest research on how best to lead your team remotely, plus why it&apo...

Our guest this week is a trailblazer in the legal profession who has proven that it's absolutely possible to work part-time in a senior role. Chris Bryant is a partner at the international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, where he has a busy role focusing on Antitrust and Competiton, alongside heading up the firms Brexit task force. He does all of this in 3 days per week, something that...

Our guest this week is the political activist  Sophie Walker, the founding leader of the UK's Women's Equality Party and the current CEO of the Young Women’s Trust , who do brilliant work supporting young women across the UK. Sophie is a powerful change-maker and force for good and in this episode, we discuss how to drive change in the face of adversity and how we can all turn angry ener...

This week on Leaders With Babies we're sharing something a little different - a recent panel discussion on motherhood, work, and identity. Lisa Ford, a Strategic Enablement Director of Nielsen , Jackie Mulryne, a partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter, and Toria Reid, an A&E Consultant at a busy Edinburgh hospital, are all Leaders Plus Fellows. In this honest discussion, they share o...

Recent figures have shown that significant numbers of highly educated women are leaving paid employment when they have children and our guest this week has written a brand new book examining the reasons why. Shani Orgad is Professor of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and on this week's podcast she shares her research and the real-life stories she has heard of women...

This week our guest is Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, the first female Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering,  Hayaatun shares with us exactly what led to her being seen as a key person of influence, offering tips and practical steps for listeners on how you too can increase your visibility at work.  It's clear she has worked incredibly hard to progress in her career and become a confi...

My guest this week is Dom Holmes, Head of Employment Law, and a Partner at the International law firm Taylor Vinters . Dom is one of the few male partners in law to work part-time. As he and his team advise employers with extremely time-sensitive and complex employment issues, it is incredibly fascinating to hear how he manages to balance his incredibly busy role and parenthood, by working 4 days...